Flint's 'Champ' Anthony Dirrell gets shot at making the title official with WBC bout against champion Sakio Bika

FLINT, MI -- In Flint, professional boxer Anthony Dirrell is known as "The Champ,"
which is embroidered on the front headrests of the leather seats in the pearl 1984 Buick Regal he drives in the Back to the Bricks Rolling Cruise. The
undefeated boxer, honking his horn in response to the bystanders yelling out to him as he rolls by, is ready to make that title official to the world in a couple
of months.

At 28, Dirrell (26-0, 22 KO's) is finally getting the title shot he's
dreamed about since first putting on a pair of boxing gloves at 9 years old.

Dirrell's WBC super middleweight prizefight
is set for Oct. 26 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. He
will face WBC titleholder Sakio Bika on Showtime. Golden Boy chief executive
Richard Schaefer, the promoter, is working with Dirrell's adviser Al Haymon on the final terms of the
deal.

"Just to get this chance for this championship
is surreal and I don't know how I will feel once I win it," a beaming Dirrell
said with a grin, while playing with his 18-month-old son, Anthony Dirrell Jr.,
in the living room of his Burton home. "I've been doing this for 20 years and
that's what every little kid fights for.

"I can picture myself being raised up
on my cousin's arms with the belt in my hand," he imagined. "I can already envision
it. I know it will happen. It's destined."

Cancer and a motorcycle accident stymied Dirrell's title hopes in the past. But Dirrell doesn't regret any of
those experiences. They only intensified The Dog's, fierce persona. Dirrell
was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer, in December
2006, which kept him away from boxing for almost two years. His mother, Lola
Dirrell, called that her son's lowest point in life. She gets emotional
reliving the moment when the family first thought the cancer may have returned.

"One
time, I was at work and he came and visited me after his chemo and I seen this
strange look on his face then he started crying and left back out so I had to
leave to check on him," said Lola Dirrell, as she wiped tears from her eyes,
struggling to tell the story. "When I left, he told me that the cancer was back
and bigger than ever, in the driveway of my home and this was after we thought
he was cleared.

"He
was crying so badly but then my mother prayed with him and the doctors sent him
to Ypsilanti to get checked again and they couldn't find anything," she said. "Prayer
definitely changes things."

After
knocking out cancer, Dirrell returned to the ring stronger than ever in 2008.
He won 12 straight fights, dropping all but two opponents before suffering another
setback with an injury from a motorcycle crash in May 2012 that sidelined him for another 17 months.
At the time, Dirrell was listed as the WBC's
top-ranked super middleweight contender, preparing for a title match with Nikola
Sjekloca. His grandfather and coach, Leon "Bumper"
Lawson, couldn't believe Dirrell would do such a thing as get on a motorcycle.

"I
was very upset and disappointed because he was supposed to be babysitting and
the next thing I know is that I was getting calls to come to the hospital to
find out Anthony's been in an accident," said Lawson, who introduced Anthony to
the sport. "I figured he would be back, though, because he's not a quitter. All
of those obstacles were coming up that made me wonder if it was meant for him
or not but his record speaks for itself. He's back to being himself, knocking
people out."

Doubt also crept into Dirrell's head, especially as he dealt with cancer, but his family and faith in God kept him strong. Dirrell's
longtime girlfriend Shondrika Williams, also the mother of Anthony Jr., comforted
him through all the setbacks, too. She sat with her man in chemotherapy
treatments and cooked for him after he broke his left
leg and fractured his arm on the motorcycle. She said the accident may have been a blessing in disguise.

"When he started walking again after the accident I witnessed him
become more determined," said 26-year-old Williams, a 2004 graduate of Flint
Southwestern Academy. "He came back better and stronger. That humbled him out a
little bit, too, because he realized that his opportunity could be gone very
quickly."

All of Dirrell's success and misfortunes have been public
knowledge for the people in the community. Local media has documented all of
the highs and lows so his hometown audience can vouch for Dirrell's
transformation. He's a regular customer at Flint's World Class Bar-B-Q on
Saginaw Street, which he calls the best outside of his own. When Dirrell
shows up, Helen "Big Momma" Stewart knows he wants his Polish sausage cooked
well done and split up the middle. She calls him a "very likeable guy."

Premier Audio Concepts owner Gary Paquette has known Dirrell and
his family for years. He's used to Dirrell popping up daily to hang around his electronics
and audio business. Paquette even sells Dirrell T-shirts for $10 and says he's
been "the same person since day one."

"After his last fight, he flew home the very next day like he didn't
even fight," Paquette said. "He's real down to earth. He's a fighter and he's
been through a lot. It's going to be great when he wins. It's happening."

Dirrell will take off for training camp on the first week of
September with his grandfather Lawson, trainer Javan
"Sugar" Hill, cousin Earl Thompson and his brother Willie Dirrell III. He will complete workouts in Traverse City for 8-10
weeks, which is two weeks more than usual, because he knows what's at stake
with Bika's title on the line.

Bika (32-5-2, 21 KO's) is a proven opponent, with bouts against
Andre Ward and Joe Calzaghe under his belt, But Dirrell is ready to make the
transition from hometown hero to world champion. Next year, when Dirrell drives
through downtown's bricks, he's expecting to have a world title wrapped around
his waist. No excuses.

"Flint raised me," said Dirrell. "It's rough and rugged with good
and bad, but Flint is known for their athletes and with the people that succeed
-- they have helped guide me. A championship belt hasn't been done since Chris
Byrd, so to get one would mean a lot."